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Commission moves municipal cooperative funding to fuel-tax and cuts per-city allocation to $50,000
Summary
St. Clair County commissioners voted to fund municipal cooperative payments from the local 4¢ fuel tax and reduce the per-municipality payment to $50,000 for FY27, with funds restricted to road projects and requiring invoice documentation.
The board adopted resolution 2026-31 to change how municipal cooperative funding is financed and restricted. Under the new resolution, the FY27 payment to each municipality will be $50,000, to be paid from the county’s local 4¢ fuel tax and restricted to road-related work with supporting documentation and an August 1 submission deadline.
Chair read the resolution aloud and staff confirmed legal review had checked the proposal’s compatibility with local statutes and the county’s fiscal rules. During discussion a commissioner voted “nay” on the final motion; the motion nevertheless passed by voice vote with the chair recording the outcome. County staff said the procedural change both ties the payments to a road-focused revenue stream and imposes clearer documentation requirements.
Mayors at the meeting expressed concern that shifting the funding source and lowering the distribution will complicate municipal budgeting. Several suggested that predictable, multi-year assurances (for example a fixed $50,000 for 10 years) would enable cities to borrow and plan larger paving projects; the chair noted predictability was discussed as an option but declined to guarantee any multi-year commitment at this meeting.
